It’s been a very busy day. I have no business whatsoever taking yet more photos of the moon, but tonight, on the way home from paying assignments, there it was … completely full …. and quite lovely. A second photo, with a few technical challenges, was taken above some grain elevators a little while later. Gosh, I do love the moon!
Small-town Texas life, while it has its downside, sometimes gives us things like this …. Friday night in Taylor, Texas, population just over 15,000. Mind you, if I were these boys’ dad, it still might concern me that they’re out and about well past dark, practicing their cycling tricks under the glow of a bank’s night lights. There’s no way I’d have seen something like this during my time in metro-Atlanta. Maybe it’s not a good idea here, either? Call it the cynicism of a long-time journalist. Still, it made an interesting street photography image, much better, I think, in black and white. I’ll post the color version below this one for comparison. At times, however, color gets in the way.
It wasn’t my plan to post more moon imagery this evening, but doggone it, that Waxing Gibbous moon, at 99.7% visibility, looked mighty fine. The first photo pays another visit to the rookery at Murphy Park, the second in downtown Taylor. I’ve said it before many times, but I could bay at the moon until the cows come home. 
Just yesterday I was lamenting the lack of fall color to a photographer friend in Georgetown, Texas. One of the few things I miss about living in the southeast U.S. was their autumn. Thankfully, right after parting for the day with my friend, I happened on this scene at Chandler Park, where a nice young fellow was enjoying an afternoon of fishing. Granted, it’s not New England, but it was a sight to see for me.
Tonight’s moon is in its Waxing Gibbous phase, making it almost full at 98.2%. For yours truly that was enough to merit a visit to our lunar neighbor as it hovered above the beautiful town square in Georgetown, Texas. This set of photos is for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.
For the first time in a while, I didn’t venture out to photograph trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Not being one to sit around, I moseyed into the countryside after a series of rain showers came through the Blackland Prairie. When I viewed the images in color, they just didn’t feel right. So tonight, when I’m not keeping in tune with the Astros, you get monotone.
You might say “Andy just posted something on prairie grass recently.” While you’d be spot on, I found myself in a whole field of it last weekend, behind a church in Georgetown, Texas. I couldn’t resist the temptation. Yes, it’s a weed, but doggone it, I love it when it glows.
These are some photos taken recently on some of our soothing county roads in my little slice of Texas. With this post you’ll see stock ponds, or tanks, plus an unnamed creek coursing through the land. What you’ll also see, in the last photo, is a pooka. Consider this a teachable moment, friends. Do some research, learn about the pooka. When I took the photo, I didn’t see it. That may tell you something. While you’re at it, find, and watch, “Harvey,” starring Mr. Jimmy Stewart. 
Let’s meander a little east of Taylor, but not too far. A short drive on U.S. Highway 79 and you’re in Thrall, Texas, population around 900. These images aren’t tied together by anything other than geography. The opening photo continues a fascination with railroad tracks. Those rails run east-west through the heart of town. Next to the tracks are what appear to be cotton storage bins, or perhaps an old gin. It makes sense to have the crop close to the tracks. The others? Well, there’s Krieg Brothers Chevrolet, on Main Street. I’m pretty sure it’s been closed for a while. Then just a few snaps around town, including Thrall United Methodist Church, the Thrall Volunteer Fire Department headquarters, a decrepit old building on Main Street. My favorite, however, is from the town’s Tiger Stadium, where the Thrall junior varsity team was taking on the squad from Rosebud, Texas. A few years ago, I covered a high school game here for the Austin American-Statesman. I determined to go back for a look at the stadium at some point. It’s so very small-town Texas. The few short minutes I was there, I met some nice people in the stands. We’re blessed with many nice people. 
These are a few photos taken while wandering around downtown Fort Worth, Texas in the summer of 1973, when I was on a summer internship at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Good old Tri-X film, folks. 
